


Routine makes the world go 'round

by vexxedBereavement (orphan_account)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Hopeful Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Denial, Drabble, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Internalized Homophobia, Not Beta Read, OOC, One Shot, Open to Interpretation, Pesterlogs (Homestuck), Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship Davekat, Unrequited Crush, Violence, but its davekat in my mind, canon typical homophobia, i gave up after like 10 lines, i guess you could also view it as johndave if you think john likes dave back, might be, not a lot but its there, pesterlogs are such a headache to format, so like the public middle school kind, well it can be read as platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25834975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/vexxedBereavement
Summary: Your name is DAVE STRIDER and you HAVE A ROUTINE that you FOLLOW EVERY DAY because YOU HAVE NO REASON NOT TO.Or, before the game, Dave is just a kid trapped in a cycle he's to blind to see for what it is. He still hates it though.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, John Egbert/Dave Strider, Unrequited!, pre-
Kudos: 23





	Routine makes the world go 'round

**Author's Note:**

> CONTENT WARNING: Implied/Refrenced Child Abuse, Internalized Homophobia
> 
> guess who lost like 75% of her interest in AFTG and took a nosedive into an old fandom. 
> 
> IF YOU'RE A HOMESTUCK FAN WHO FOUND THIS THROUGH TAGS, YOU CAN SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH >:D
> 
> Im still in the AFTG fandom! I'm still writing that 5+1 i was talking about! its just going on the back burner since ive started getting back into homestuck. (ik, ew, but cringe culture is dead so who cares?) I will still write AFTG fanfiction, no need to worry, just don't be shocked if you see some homestuck pop up every once in a while too. that's all!
> 
> i forgot when john changed his chumhandle, lets just say it was the summer before his birthday. also, I probably wrote the dialogue all types of wrong (I didn't even bother writing the convo dave had with karkat, cause I knew I would fuck it up) so sorry in advance! hope you enjoy!! also sorry its so short!

Hiding in your room used to be a lot more. Interesting. You wouldn’t say ‘fun’, as hiding from Bro was never fun (in any sense of the word), but there used to be a lot more to do. You would go online and watch shitty top-ten videos or gore-filled animations. You would post the most ironic thing you could think of to your equally-ironic blog. You would pester your friends and see what they had been doing recently. In the back of your mind, you always knew that at some point you’d have to leave the comfort of your bedroom and venture to the roof to strife, but you always had lots of distractions. The same distractions every time sure, but routine can be comforting. Sometimes. 

Now, sitting at your desk and staring into the screen of your computer, it feels like you’ve exhausted every form of entertainment. With no distractions, all the worry of your upcoming battle with Bro is on the forefront of your mind. You’re not scared, as that is uncool and childish. All your doing is acknowledging that the strifes have been getting more intense lately. And that it is very likely you will get injured.

You click through your computer, opening files you hadn’t looked at in years. You try to draw a comic, but you feel horribly uninspired and it comes out almost grotesquely sincere. You try to make some music, but everything you mix turns sad and melancholy. 

Your name is DAVE STRIDER and there is NOTHING YOU CAN DO to PROLONG THIS STRIFE any more than YOU ALREADY HAVE. 

Well, you thought so until you got a notification from pesterchum. 

ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 14:24

EB: hey dave!!  
EB: i changed my chumhandle  
EB: those trolls were getting annoying!  
EB: just thought id let you know 

turntechGodhead [TG] answered ectoBiologist [EB] at 14:28

TG: yo 

EB: oh hey  
EB: what have you been up to lately?

TG: the usual  
TG: mixing sick beats and being an all around cool dude 

EB: glad youre staying on brand then! 

You smile. Trust John to know exactly how to cheer you up.  
EB: oh shit!! 

TG: you okay bro 

EB: my dad wants to go out for dinner tonight  
EB: i have to go! 

TG: bye dude 

EB: bye dave!! 

ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 14:36

You frown at the screen. Lately, you’ve been feeling a bit weird towards John. Almost possessive. You cringe at how gay that sounds but deep down you know it’s true. You get jealous when he talks to anyone else (even if it’s just Rose and Jade) and weirdly upset when he has to leave or otherwise stop talking to you. You had thought about bringing all this up to Rose but you knew she would just laugh at you and say that you had a crush on him. 

You did not have a crush on John Egbert. You’re not gay. You’re both just really good bros and that’s where it ends.

You decide to distract yourself from those unsavory thoughts by looking through your previous pesterlogs. 

Going down the sidebar you stumble across a conversation you had with carcinoGeneticist a few months back. You remember it being oddly pleasant. He was still his usual shouty and aggressive self, and he still insulted you, but you were able to have an actual decent conversation. He’s actually a surprisingly funny guy, even though he’s a bit strange and acts like he’s an alien. You respect his dedication to the bit though, and getting a rise out of him is always fun. Rereading your banter makes you smile and since it takes up time you go ahead and read some of your previous conversations too. 

Suddenly, you hear the tell-tale sound of Bro’s feet hitting the stairs that go up to the rooftop, and your heart clenches. You take a deep breath before signing off of your computer. If he’s going up there before you on his own volitation, he’s pissed and you took to long. 

You lug your ass out of your chair and your knees crack. You didn’t realize you had been sitting for so long. But then again your knees always crack when you stand, so you don know why you’re surprised. 

Just a normal day, you think as you hesitantly open your bedroom door. The kitchen is covered in smuppets like normal, but you don’t pay it much mind. Crossing the apartment, you open the fridge and grab a sword, the first one you see. You then bolt to the stairwell, though not before noticing that Cal is still on the couch. Good, he must not be as mad as you thought, then.

Walking up the stairs take about 2 minutes normally, but you make it up in 1, not wanting to upset Bro anymore than you already did. As you heave in front of the door that leads to the rooftop, you mentally prepare yourself for the strife. Not that there’s much to prepare for, but you figure you should be expecting anything in case your brother tries to surprise you. 

Opening the doors, you feel the hot Texas heat beat down onto your skin. The sun is bright and high in the air, the tag-end of summer no less obnoxious than the start of the season. 

There, on the other side of the roof, is your Bro, in all his glory. He grips a katana in one hand and a smuppet in the other, though he drops the plush once he registers your eyes on him. The puppet falls to the ground with a soft thump and your bro raises a brow at you in challenge. 

You get into position.

The rest of the fight passes in a blur. This is all routine for you, and your Bro isn’t trying very hard, obviously preparing for something big during your next strife that night.

There’s only one change to the routine, and its the fact that you manage to knock your brother’s katana off the side of the building. Bro looks at you impassively as it falls but you can tell he’s angry with you for inconveniencing him. He walks down the stairs, presumably leaving to retrieve his missing weapon, you drop to the ground.

As you lay on the concrete covered in sweat and bruises, a few cuts here and there, you almost want to smile. 

You broke the cycle. Sure your brother is pissed but that doesn’t matter right now.

Your name is DAVE STRIDER and you CHANGED IT UP and FUCKED UP ROUTINE for what feels like the FIRST TIME EVER. 

You are so proud of yourself.

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed!! please leave a kudos or a comment if you enjoyed because validation is my main source of nutrition. 
> 
> hit me up!
> 
> Email: aestheticallypleasingramen@gmail.com
> 
> Insta: soup_nd_crackwrs 
> 
> if you think I was insensitive in any way, please tell me and I will fix it or take the fic down! have a nice day!


End file.
